Bystanders
by ill at ease
Summary: Sometimes Dean wondered about the people they left behind and the people they were too late to save.
1. Intro

Sometimes Dean wondered about them. He hardly ever mentioned it to Sam, though he knew Sam thought about it too. What happened to the people they saved? Did they go on to live their lives, happily ever after, or was it just a matter of time before some other supernatural creature got a hold of them. Missouri had told them years ago that being touched by evil left scars, scars that tended to attract other things. Of course, most of these people hadn't been touched by the same kind of evil Sam and Dean had, but he still wondered.

And then there were other things he wondered about. He wondered about Layla and whether she was even alive anymore. He wondered if her faith had lasted until the end. He wondered about Lisa and Ben. Did Lisa find some guy to spend her life with? And what about Ben? Did he remember what had happened or had he blocked that memory from his mind? He wondered whether He wondered whether Haley and her brothers were still looking out for each other.

He wondered about the people he had gotten close to on hunts and he wondered about the people he had never known. He wondered about those he saved and he wondered about those he and Sam had been too late to save. Of course, it was useless to wonder. He would never know. Kill one monster, hit the road to look for the next, and never look back. That was the life he led, the life he had to lead. Wondering about these things was stupid and pointless.

But he still wondered . . .

* * *

Dun Dun Dun Dun!

I hope you've all enjoyed the intro for my first ever Supernatural fanfic series. Ever wonder what happened to all the people we left behind after an episode? Ever wonder what happened to them before the episode? Welcome to The Bystanders, a series about everyone else. Hope you like it.

The format of this fanfic will be pretty loose. I'll be writing from characters from all 4 season, not necessarily in order. It probably won't be in chronological order either, so you'll just have to pick up the context clues in each chapter if you want to know when it took place.

Also, if you have any suggestions for characters you really want to hear about, let me know and I'll put them in. So far I have 2 chapters done (Jeff from the pilot and Chuck from "The Monster at the End of This Book") and I have three more planned (Lisa and Ben from "The Kids are Alright" and Layla from "Faith"). The goal is to write about at least 1 character from every episode. I also have plans to write more about a grown up Ben and about Chuck after the series ends, so expect to see more about them.

Oh, and one more thing. I am looking for a beta, so if you're interested, let me know.

(General Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural)


	2. Pilot

Pilot  
1X01

Jeff flopped down in front of his computer, clicking open his email. There were six new messages. Two were junk mail, one was from Libby, his new girlfriend, one was from a professor, and the final two were from his friends. Jeff scanned through the email addresses, looking for one in particular, but knowing he wouldn't find it. He hadn't heard from Sam in almost a year.

At first, Jeff thought it was a good idea for Sam to leave college. Jess was the love of his life, the woman he planned on marrying, and now she was dead. It made sense for him to get out of town and take some time to deal. Jeff had found it a little strange that he had chosen to go on this road trip with his brother, a guy who Sam had mentioned only once since Jeff had known him. But still, the guy was there when Sam needed him and he was family.

That first year, he talked to Sam over email and instant messenger all the time. He sounded like he was having a good time with his brother, though he clearly missed college. Every email was full of questions about how everyone at Stanford was doing, what kind of classes we were taking, which of his favorite professors were going on sabbatical, etc. Jeff expected Sam to head back to Stanford any day, but he never did.

Then, during his second year away, the emails started to slow down. Instead of getting an email every few days, he got one or two a month. The letters also stopped asking so many questions about school. He still wanted to know what was going on with his friends, but that was it. This was when Jeff started to wonder whether he would be coming back. He had heard some statistic once about the odds of a student quitting school for more than a year and then coming back. He couldn't remember the exact numbers, but he remembered that the odds weren't good.

The next year, he got even fewer emails. About once a month, one of Sam's emails would pop into Jeff's inbox. They were short. No more stories about the crazy truck stop waitresses. No more stories about the amazing scenery, or even the lack there of. No more questions about anybody else. The emails felt more routine, like Sam was preoccupied and only writing because it was something he had always done.

Then the emails stopped. Jeff had sent dozens of emails to Sam, trying to figure out what was going on. Did he just forget to mention that he had changed his email address? Did he find some other college to go to, make a lot of friends, and decide he didn't need to keep in touch with his old friends anymore? Did he die in some horrible car crash? Whatever was going on, Jeff was sure it wasn't intentional. He knew Sam, and he wasn't the kind of guy to just ignore or abandon his friends. Of course, sometimes Jeff wished that Sam was capable of doing that. He wished he could make himself believe that this was intentional, because the fact that this was unintentional opened up a wide range of tragic possibilities.

Jeff sighed, running his hands over his short, curly hair. He had already lost one of his best friends in that fire four years ago. Now it looked like he had lost the other.

(Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to Kripke and crew, not me.)


	3. The Monster At the End of This Book

The Monster at the End of This Book  
4X18

A wild sequence of colorful ribbons wound around the screen of a plain black laptop, sitting amidst a pile of crumpled papers and food wrappers. Chuck watched the mad swirls from the couch, taking an occasional swig of whiskey.

It had been so much easier to write all of this before he had met the Winchesters. Before, they were just make-believe characters. Fans raved about how they came to life on the page, but Chuck knew they weren't real. They didn't feel emotions or pain. They were just ideas.

Now, every time he had a vision, his stomach twisted and his had would unconsciously reach for his cell phone. He had known the characters as well as any member of his family before. Now he knew the brothers. He knew the secrets they couldn't even share with each other and, worst of all, he knew the future they would have to face.

He worried about whether the brothers would make it through this at all. That vision still eluded him. Would Sam realize that what he was doing was wrong? Would Dean ever make piece with what he did in Hell?

"You really should write it down before you forget."

Chuck glanced at the angel sitting on the chair across the room from him. Zachariah had been visiting him more and more lately. He wasn't sure why. Did the angel honestly care about him, or did he just want to make sure Chuck wasn't slacking off on his job? Chuck had been sure that both opinions were true, depending on the day in question.

Sighing, Chuck set aside his bottle, pulled the laptop onto his lap, and began to write about the mysterious man claiming to be Sam and Dean's brother.

(Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to Kripke and crew, not me.)


	4. The Kids are Alright

Bystanders  
(general disclaimer: don't own Supernatural and that's probably a good thing. Kripke does a much better job with it than I ever could.)

* * *

The Kids Are Alright  
Lisa

A soft creek cut through the silence as the door to Ben Braden's room inched open. Lisa poked her head into the room, eyes straining against the dark to make out the tiny body of her son deep in sleep, his chest rising and falling in time with the sound of his slow, even breaths. She watched for a little while longer before closing the door and continuing down the hall to her own room.

It had been months since the incident with the changlings, but Lisa still worried about Ben. He hadn't told her much about what happened, and Dean had assured her that he would be fine, but she wasn't so sure. Or maybe it wasn't Ben that she was unsure about. Maybe it was herself. She had never lost Ben before, not for one second, and the experience of losing him and not knowing what had happened to him was still affecting her. She still had the urge to check on him in the middle of the night, just to make sure he was there.

Sighing, she climbed back underneath the covers of her bed and tried to get some sleep. Snuggling into her pillows, she closed her eyes. She was about to drift into sleep when a sudden squeal of tires from outside jolted her back awake. She cracked one eye open, not really looking at anything; just listening.

The sound of the engine slowly faded into the night and Lisa shook her head, trying to erase from her mind the face that had accompanied the roar of a classic engine.

Dean Winchester. It had taken years for Lisa to finally forget Dean the first time they had met. Now it was even harder. Back in 2000, they had made a connection, and not just physical. Of course, the physical connection hadn't been bad. Eight years later, she could still feel the heat of his lips on her skin. There was a reason all of her friends knew about Dean, the "best night of my life" Dean. Still, there was something else there, an emotional or spiritual connection, whatever you want to call it.

They didn't know much about each other. She didn't know what his family was like, what his favorite color was, or even what he did for a living. He didn't know why she decided to be a yoga instructor or what her favorite food was. They didn't know each other. And yet, Lisa felt like she had gotten to know him better than anyone she had ever met. She didn't know all the details of his life, but she knew about the kindness and gentleness that hid behind all of his bravado. She knew that he still carried the scars from events of his childhood, though she had no idea what those scars were. She knew he was tough in a way other men only pretended to be, and she knew that he was alone. He was trapped in his own world and cut off from others, by his choice or by the choices of others, she didn't know.

She knew Dean. At least, she thought she knew him. She woke up one morning, expecting to feel the warmth of Dean's chest beneath her cheek, just like she had every morning for the past six days. Instead, there were only sheets. Sitting up, she glanced around. Dean wasn't the only thing missing. His clothes that had been carelessly discarded on the way into the room and the duffel that should be sitting in the corner were gone.

The missing duffel stood out to Lisa more than anything. Everything Dean had brought with him on this road trip was in that bag, a bag that had not left Lisa's bedroom since Dean had entered it. Did this mean he was gone?

Lisa flung the covers off, grabbed a robe, and hurried into the kitchen. There was nobody. Lisa checked the living room, but no leather jacket hung casually on the back of her couch. Lisa stood in shock. She thought there had been something special between them. Why would he just leave?

A soft click sounded behind her. She turned around to see Dean stepping through the door, two coffees balanced carefully in his hands.

"Morning," he said with that smile that made her go week in the knees.

"Morning," she replied. "You went out for coffee? How come you didn't just make it here?" Dean shrugged.

"I needed to go for a drive this morning, clear my head."

"Oh." This didn't sound good.

"Lisa, this week has been great, but my dad called this morning and he really needs me back to help out with the business."

"Oh," Lisa said again. "Well, I guess that's it then. We always knew you'd be gone in a week, so . . . that's it." She glanced up to see Dean shifting awkwardly in front of her. Apparently he did goodbyes about as well as she did.

"Well, I should probably hit the road. It's a long drive. Maybe I'll look you up if I'm in town again."

"Yeah, sure maybe." With a short nod, Dean turned and walked out of Lisa's life. For weeks, she tried to forget him, tried not to take notice of the cold sheets on the other side of her bed. Her reaction to Dean had taken her off guard. She had always been a wild woman, moving from one man to the next with no thoughts of ever settling down. But something about Dean had changed her. She didn't want anyone else. She wanted Dean.

Then, four weeks and six days after Dean Winchester left, Lisa found out she was pregnant. The next few years were the hardest years of her life. She thought about calling Dean so many times, but resisted. He was needed at the family business. She knew that. Plus, she was a strong woman. There was no reason she couldn't handle this on her own without involving him. Dean had only wanted a short term relationship, and she wasn't going to push this on him.

At Ben's first birthday, Lisa made her final decision. She would not tell Dean about Ben. She would raise him on her own, and she would forget about Dean Winchester. He may not be here, but he had at least given her a son. Ben meant everything to Lisa, and she was going to make sure she was the best mom ever, not just some woman pining after a man who had never loved her the way she had loved him.

Exactly seven years later, Dean Winchester walked back into her life. Seven years without him had hardened Lisa and eight years as a mom had solidified her priorities. Ben didn't need a father who was just going to back up and leave after banging his mom a few times. She was not about to let him into their lives.

That's what she told herself over and over again, trying to stay angry with Dean, but after Dean had saved Ben and brought him back to her, Lisa had to admit, at least to herself, that she was still in love with Dean. He was the same, gentle hero that she remembered, but now even more complex. He hadn't left just to help his family. He had left to save lives and he was leaving now to do the same thing. It was who he was and, though Lisa had offered to let him stay, deep down she knew that her one grateful kiss was the last contact they were likely to have.

But who knows. Lisa had thought she would never see Dean Winchester again after he left eight years ago. Maybe, just maybe, he would walk back into her life again.

Lisa groaned, squeezing her eyes shut and burring her face in her pillows. This was not helping. There was no guarantee that Dean would come back, and no indication on his part. She would be better off forgetting him. But maybe, just this once, it would be ok to remember. With a resigned sigh, Lisa let her thoughts return to that last night, eight years ago. Slowly, she began to drift off to sleep, her mind filled with the memory of warm kisses and soft caresses.

* * *

So, what do you think?

Reviews are love.

Also, I'm still looking for a Beta and I'm still open to suggestions for characters.


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